1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to secure access techniques, and more particularly to authentication using physical devices, such as access cards, with two or more communication interfaces.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are currently several technologies used for contactless communications, including those defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in ISO 14443 “Identification cards—Contactless integrated circuit(s) cards—Proximity cards,” as well as several technologies used with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. These technologies allow devices such as access cards, credit cards, passports, and product tags to communicate with specialized readers to provide information about associated people or products.
Various technologies, such as the MasterCard® Paypass™ system, assist users with paying for purchases using a contactless interaction. And many different types of RFID allow the tagging of products and pallets for the purpose of tracking their process through supply chains. Such contactless communication technologies are incorporated into various products. Contactless interfaces can also be used in secure authentication products, such as the Mifare® systems produced by NXP Semiconductors of Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Because of their physical limitations, however, contactless interfaces have thus far found only limited use in secure authentication products. For example, the communication capacity (“bandwidth”) and power required to perform high security authentication, such as a public-key cryptographic operation, is generally not available in unpowered contactless access cards.